Big Ten postponed for ‘health and safety’ of players

Greg Schiano last coached a Rutgers football game on Dec. 30, 2011, leading the Scarlet Knights to a Pinstripe Bowl triumph over Iowa State at Yankee Stadium.

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Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs gestures to the media on September 30, 2019 after he come back into a news conference to clarify a statement he made earlier about a search committee to find a new head football coach, a day after he fired Chris Ash despite owing the former coach millions of dollars. Hobbs named Nunzio Campinele interim head coach to take over the team for the rest of 2019.

The last time Rutgers athletics director Pat Hobbs watched the Scarlet Knights win on the gridiron was 290 days ago.

It’ll be a while longer until they get to watch Rutgers play football again.

It’s why Hobbs said he understands the emotions from the Scarlet Knights fan base Tuesday after the Big Ten voted Tuesday to postpone the 2020 college football season due to ongoing health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are fortunate to have the most loyal fan base in all of college athletics,’’ Hobbs said in an open letter Tuesday evening.

The Big Ten announced it would look to play a college football season in the spring, but conference commissioner Kevin Warren said it would only return to the gridiron “as soon as it is safe to do so.‘‘

After returning to Piscataway to take over the Rutgers football program last December, Schiano started setting his sights on a Sept. 5 game against in-state foe Monmouth. That game was canceled as a result of the Big Ten announcing plans for a conference-only season in July, and last week the league put Nebraska on Rutgers’ slate as part of its new 10-game schedule.

It’ll be the first calendar year without football for Rutgers since 1871, and the first fall without football in the Big Ten since the conference was formed in 1896.

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Here is Hobbs’ full statement to the Rutgers community:

Dear Rutgers Nation,

Today the Big Ten Conference announced the postponement of the 2020 fall sports season. This decision impacts our football, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball programs. This decision was made in the interest of the health and safety of our student-athletes and the broader community. The pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for our society and this outcome was always a possibility. Unfortunately, today it has become a reality.

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Rutgers Athletic Director Pat Hobbs with his Scarlet Kight players after they lost to Minnesota, 42-7, before an announced Homecoming crowd of 26,429 on Saturday October 19, 2019 in Piscataway.

All of us are pained for our student-athletes, coaches and staff who approach each day with a passion, dedication and determination to pursue excellence in all that they do. More than anything they want to compete. The successes of last season were poised to springboard many of our programs, while others were primed to create a new sense of excitement.

Although athletic competition will be paused for some time, I am confident that our student-athletes remain committed to achieving greatness in the classroom and leaving a lasting impact on their communities. I am proud of each of our staff members, who despite the challenges that have been presented over the past months, continue to be excited to come to work every day – albeit at times remotely. They have been exemplary in continuing the day-to-day efforts in keeping our department running and in the planning for our future in the face of uncertainty.

These accomplishments would have not been possible without the support and commitment of our entire Rutgers Athletics family. To that, I want to thank all of Rutgers Nation for your continued support of our Scarlet Knights. We are fortunate to have the most loyal fan base in all of college athletics.

We will weather the challenges ahead together, remain diligent in our pursuit of excellence and display the pride and resiliency that makes us Jersey!

Go RU!

Hobbs wasn’t the only Rutgers officials to issue statements on a historic day in college sports history.

Rutgers University president Jonathan Holloway said he believed the Big Ten “made the right decision’’ to push back the fall sports season.

”The health and well-being of our student-athletes and our entire community is our first and highest concern,’’ Holloway said. “No one is more disappointed than we are to see a delay in a season with such great promise for Rutgers, but it was the only decision to make in the face of the global pandemic.”

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Keith Sargeant may be reached at [email protected]

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